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Aug 08, 2023

Best L

The best L-shaped desks are ideal for maximizing floor space while offering plenty of room for multiple screens and other essentials. And, unlike traditional desks, the L-shaped angle creates a nook

The best L-shaped desks are ideal for maximizing floor space while offering plenty of room for multiple screens and other essentials. And, unlike traditional desks, the L-shaped angle creates a nook for tucking in your office chair. Many designs, like the Sauder Cottage Road Desk, offer built-in storage options and cord management systems to help keep your work area organized and clutter-free. While our favorite overall, the Pottery Barn Cayman L-Shape Rotating Desk, stands out for its minimally classic style and modular design, there are several other options on this list for every kind of home office.

The best L-shaped desks (like the Pottery Pacific) offer more workspace than traditional options.

An L-shaped desk is an excellent choice if you’re someone who needs to multitask, according to Keren Richter, co-founder and design principal of White Arrow, a New York-based design firm. “These desks can be great for having additional work surfaces to spread out your material alongside laptops and monitors,” she explains. Additionally, they’re ideal for smaller rooms as they can be more conveniently positioned in a corner than rectangular desks. Audrey Scheck, founder and principal designer at Austin, Texas-based firm Audrey Scheck Design, mentions that these desks offer maximum work area without occupying excessive square footage in the room.

When selecting an L-shaped desk, it's crucial to take into account the size of your room, preferred alignment (left or right) and budget. From customizable parts to design details to more basic considerations like the materials used, there’s a lot to consider. To help, we rounded up the best L-shaped desks in several categories so you can spread out all the home office accessories you need for maximum productivity. Afterward, we suggest checking out Vetted editors’ favorite office chairs to complete your ideal workspace.

Pottery Barn

Dimensions: 50 x 20 x 30 inches | Material: Mango wood | Weight: 95 pounds | Features: Rotating section, adjustable levers

Most L-shaped desks have a fixed design—with the L-shape either aligning to the right or left. However, the Pottery Barn Cayman L-shaped desk offers a unique feature: it can rotate to create the desired shape you want, allowing you to customize the layout to suit your specific needs and workspace configuration. Plus, it’s built to last, thanks to its solid mango wood frame that has been kiln-dried and is resistant to warping and cracking over time. Another cool feature? The rotating section can be conveniently tucked under the desk to create a more compact and traditional shape, which is particularly beneficial for smaller spaces.

Joss & Main

Dimensions: 70.9 x 17.7 x 30 inches | Material: Pine wood | Weight: 136.7 pounds | Features: Soft-close drawers, file cabinets

Drawers are an essential feature for anyone who values an organized and clutter-free work surface. Joss & Main’s Sophia Desk is a solid choice because it offers four drawers and two filing cabinets, providing ample storage options. The drawers are soft-close, so you don’t need to worry about distracting slams when hunting for that pen during an important call or meeting. Plus, it’s a keeper, thanks to a solid pine wood construction that can hold up to 440 pounds of weight.

Wayfair

Dimensions: 65.1 x 29.8 x 65.1 inches | Material: Manufactured wood | Weight: 196.4 pounds | Features: Cord management, drawers, open shelves

If you love that clean and organized aesthetic for your desk, it's important to have a reliable cord management system that keeps unsightly cables out of sight. The Sauder Cottage Road Desk offers a convenient solution with its grommet holes located in the center of the desk, specifically designed for managing computer cords and wires. Another nice feature? Two file cabinets, two closed drawers and two open shelves for storing and organizing all your essentials. The desk has a contrasting white frame and wood top, along with a finished back, so you can choose to tuck it in a corner or leave it free-standing.

Pottery Barn

Dimensions: 78 x 64 x 30 inches | Material: Poplar and engineered wood | Weight: 191 pounds | Features: Rotating section, adjustable levers, four open shelves

If space is limited and you want to maximize functionality, Pottery Barn’s Pacific L-Shape Rotating Desk offers a clever solution. Its rotating feature can easily transform it into either an L-shaped desk or open shelving, making it adaptable to your specific needs. Its deep shelves provide plenty of room for storing a range of items, while the sturdy poplar wood construction gives it an overall durable feel. And since it’s finished on all sides, you can choose to place the desk just about anywhere. It also includes adjustable levers to provide stability and balance—particularly helpful if you have uneven flooring.

West Elm

Dimensions: 70 x 29.5 x 66 inches | Material: Eucalyptus wood | Weight: 161 pounds | Features: Open shelving, sliding cabinet doors

Mid-century modern design lovers will appreciate this stylish yet functional desk from West Elm. Crafted from FSC-certified kiln-dried eucalyptus wood, this sustainably produced desk features an acacia veneer that adds an attractive visual texture to the piece. When it comes to storage, two sliding door cabinets offer plenty of space to tuck away messy items out of view, while two open shelves allow you to aesthetically display books and tchotchkes. A nice perk: The configuration is reversible, so you can swap your open shelving to whichever side you prefer.

Wayfair

Dimensions: 55.1 x 29.9 x 46.9 inches | Material: Manufactured wood | Weight: 111.3 pounds | Features: Open shelves, cabinets

At just a little over 55 inches wide, the L-shaped East Urban Home Desk is a solid option for small spaces. But don’t be fooled by its petite size—the Home Desk provides plenty of storage: open shelving offers a place for plants and books while a pull-out drawer and closed cabinets allow you to tuck away items you’d rather not leave out in the open. The desk has a finished back, so you can place it in a corner or leave it out in the middle of a room. Plus, it can be assembled as either a left- or right-sided desk.

Amazon

Dimensions: 63 x 29.5 x 47.2 inches | Material: Metal, manufactured wood | Weight: 40.1 pounds | Features: Adjustable foot pads, monitor stand

This gaming table from Mr. Ironside provides an expansive 63 inches of desktop space, accommodating up to three monitors in total. There’s also a dedicated monitor stand is included, making room for an extra monitor or laptop. The powder-coated steel frame can hold up to 500 pounds of weight, while a curved back makes it easy to transition from screen to screen without hitting your feet in the process. Additionally, the desk’s foot pads are adjustable, which helps it stay stable if your floor is uneven.

Amazon

Dimensions: 47 x 29.5 x 35.4 inches | Material: Engineered wood, metal | Weight: 41 pounds | Features: Open shelving

If you haven’t yet browsed the selection of computer desks on Amazon for options that are both functional and affordable, we’ll save you the legwork: The GreenForest L-Shaped Desk offers incredible value at just $120. At just 47 inches wide, we’re not surprised it received its highest marks (an average of 4.6 star ratings) for its compatibility with small spaces. But while it’s relatively petite, it provides ample storage and functionality. A wide workspace easily accommodates up to three screens, while two open shelves (which can be left- or right-aligned during assembly) offer plenty of room to store essentials. Choose between five distinct colors, including a chic marble and gold look or an understated all-grey finish. (Worth noting: The desk is also available in a medium and large size.)

Wayfair

Dimensions: 55 x 35.4 x 29 inches | Material: Manufactured wood, stainless steel | Weight: 40 pounds | Features: Open shelving, adjustable foot pads, movable shelving

The 17 Stories Fortunato Desk is a solid pick for anyone looking to spend less than $150 on a stylish yet practical L-shaped desk. It features two open shelves to store items out of immediate sight, and you can affix the shelving unit to either the left or right side of the desk, depending on your workspace. Plus, the middle shelf is movable between three heights for extra storage customization.

The desk features a manufactured wood top (available in seven finishes) and a stainless steel bottom, which give it an overall sleek and modern look. Furthermore, the two X-shaped metal bars add extra sturdiness to its legs, which have an adjustable foot pads to help with stability.

Amazon

Dimensions: 71 x 29 x 71.7 inches | Material: Engineered wood | Weight: 200 pounds | Features: Lift top, closed drawers

L-shaped desks don’t typically double as standing desks, which is why we were thrilled to find the Bush Industries Somerset desk with a lift-top feature. Choose between three heights—35, 38 or 41 inches—to create a standing desk, or simply keep the lift top flush with the rest of the desk for a more traditional set-up. Plus, you can attach the lift-top section to either side of the desk to create a configuration that works for you. The desk also features a wire management system and two drawers to keep you organized, and its finished back means you can place it wherever it fits best.

As a fully remote team of writers and editors, Forbes Vetted staffers know firsthand how important it is to find create the perfect desk setup for your work style. We’ve published scores of best lists and product reviews on must-have home office furniture, gadgets and accessories based on hours of extensive research, expert interviews and product testing. These include roundups of the best under-desk treadmills, office chairs for back pain and desk lamps for outfitting your workspace.

For this piece on the best L-shaped desks, we consulted two design experts: Keren Richter, co-founder and design principal of White Arrow, an architectural design firm headquartered in New York City; and Audrey Scheck, founder and principal designer at Audrey Scheck Design, a full-service interior design company based in Austin, Texas. We refresh this story regularly to make sure our recommendations are in stock and up to date with what’s trending in the market. This story was last updated in August 2023.

To choose the best L-shaped desks, we spoke with two design experts for their input on important features to consider when shopping for L-shaped desks, as well as what materials and sizes shoppers should prioritize. We scanned the bestseller lists of various retailers (which ranged from Pottery Barn to Amazon) to get a grasp on what’s popular among a range of shoppers. From there, we narrowed down our top picks based on factors such as the type and quality of materials used, configuration options, storage capacity, versatility, aesthetic, useful extra features (for instance, cable organization, adjustable foot pads) and the quality of user reviews; we only included products with an average star rating of 4 stars and above.